An outbreak at Kelowna Francophone school École de l’Anse-au-sable has been declared over by provincial health officials.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry confirmed Thursday (Nov. 5) the outbreak is over, during a press conference.
READ MORE: B.C. breaks records with 425 new COVID-19 cases; test positivity rate of 3.8%
The school was the first in the province to have an outbreak since students went back to class in September.
The school recorded its first case of the virus on Oct. 20. That quickly grew to an outbreak that infected 16 people within a week. The school closed its doors between Oct. 26 and Nov. 4 as more than 175 people in the school community were ordered to self-isolate.
“We want to thank school officials for their excellent co-operation in the management of this outbreak, which allowed Interior Health to declare it over after 14 days,” said Dr. Albert de Villiers, Interior Health’s chief medical health officer. “We know this is a challenging time for parents and children alike, and we remind everyone to carefully consider any plans, parties or sleepovers for children as these activities could lead to other school exposures. Our public health teams continue to urge everyone to keep their social contacts small. Help us keep schools open and COVID-19 cases down among youth so children can continue with in-class learning.”
Five other schools in Kelowna have recorded cases of the virus in the past few weeks.
Kelowna Secondary School has had three unrelated cases in the last two weeks and Okanagan Mission Secondary School reported a single case of the virus on Wednesday evening.
Today, SD23 announced a member of the Springvalley Elementary School community has tested positive for COVID-19.
READ MORE: COVID-19 exposure at Kelowna elementary school
Two private schools also announced individual cases among their communities, Aberdeen Hall and St. Joseph Catholic School.
READ MORE: Another Kelowna flight exposed to COVID-19
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com
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